PROCEEDINGS 


OF  THE 


CITIZENS  OF  NEW  YORK, 


IN  OPPOSITION  TO  THE  PROJECT 

%  ■ 


OF  A 


RAILROAD  IN  BROADWAY 


r^,^^^,  _t<  -aO*"-1 


NEW  YORK: 

UNITED  STATES  ECONOMIST  PRINTING  OFFICE, 

•       80  BROADWAY 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


lEx  HthrtB 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


FORT    NEW  AMSTERDAM 


(NEW  YORK.  )  ,  1651. 


When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
"Sver'thincj  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book." 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF  THE 


CITIZENS  OF  NEW  YORK, 


IN  OPPOSITION  TO  THE 


PROJECT  OF  A  RAILROAD  IN  BROADWAY. 


Pursuant  to  previous  notice  a  "  Public  Meeting  of  Property  Owners  on  Broadway  an( 
other  Citizens  opposed  to  a  Railroad  in  Broadway,"  wa3  held  at  Lafayette  Hall,  on  th< 
evening  of  the  3d  of  August.    The  meeting  was  well  attended  and  was  organized  by  tht 


ejection  of  the  following  officers 


JAMES  R.  WHITING, 
J.  J.  CISCO, 
STEPHEN  B.  MUNN, 
GEO.  LOVETT, 
JAMES  BECK, 
LEROY  M.  WILEY, 
B.  L.  SOLOMAN, 


CHESTER  DRIGGS,  President- 


JAMES  B.  CUTTING, 
RICH'D.  MORTIMER, 
RICHARD  F.  CARMAN, 
PHILIP  BURROWES, 
ROE  LOCKWODD, 
GEO.  W.  VARIAN, 
J.  B.  MONNOT, 


J.  B.  ALTHOUSE, 

HENRY  J.  HART, 
THOS.  F.  GREENE, 
DAVID  MURRAY, 


.  Vice  Presidents. 


JOHN  O'BRIEN, 

B.  BOSCH, 

F.  H.  FLEMING, 


i 


Secretaries. 


A  Committee  of  three,  Gen.  Anthony  Lamb,  William  O'Brien,  and  D.  E.  Sickles,  was 
appointed  to  draft  a  set  of  Resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  meeting,  and  reported 
the  following : 

Whereas,  a  petition  has  been  presented  to  the  Common  Council  praying  for  the  privilege 
of  laying  a  railway  in  Broadway,  and 

Whereas,  it  is  contrary  to  the  well-established  usages  that  so  important  a  measure  should 
he  decided  before  the  views  and  wishes  of  the  property  owners,  and  those  residing  or  doing 
business  on  the  street,  are  correctly  ascertained,  they  being  the  parties  most  directly  affected 
by  the  prosperity  of  said  street ;  and 

Whereas,  such  an  expression  of  opinion  is  deemed  necessary  at  this  juncture  ;  therefore 
be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  consider  railways  of  questionable  advantage  within  the  densely  popu- 
lated portion  of  cities,  and  that  we  see  with  deep  concern  the  evident  disposition  to  use  all 
our  principal  streets  for  the  way  of  railroads,  thus  granting  to  private  companies  the  ad- 
vantages of  grading,  etc.,  obtained  by  us  at  great  cost,  for  which  they  pay  not  the  slightest 
equivalent. 


A 


Resolved,  That  the  proposed  railroad  in  Broadway  will,  instead  of  being  a  benefit  to  our 
property  or  business,  be  a  decided  disadvantage,  and  will  prove  a  serious  injury  to  us,  de- 
crease our  business,  and  materially  depreciate  the  value  of  our  property,  as  is  abundantly 
»  demonstrated  by  the  experience  derived  by  other  streets  now  occupied  by  railroad  tracts. 

Resolved,  That  the  railroad  will  render  Broadway,  as  is  the  Bowery  now — because  of  its 
railroad — a  street  through  which  none  would  pass  unless  compelled  by  necessity,  prevent- 
ing entirely  the  desire  of  its  use  for  pleasure,  depriving  the  citizens  of  the  use  of  that  fine 
promenade  now  so  much  sought  after,  and  enjoyed  with  such  zest. 

Resolved,  That  Broadway,  without  the  railway,  is  hardly  wide  enough  to  answer  the  re- 
quirements on  public  days,  or  on  the  occasions  of  extensive  military  or  civic  displays;  that 
the  proposed  spaces  on  the  sides  of  the  street  would  be  entirely  inadequate,  therefore  the 
cars  would  not  be  run ;  and  as  such  contingencies  are  of  very  frequent  occurrence,  the  con- 
seqence  of  the  interuption  of  the  travel  necessary  thereon  would  be  of  a  very  serious  nature, 
but  which  would  be  entirely  unavoidable,  as  Broadway  is  the  best  street,  the  proper  street, 
the  only  street  for  such  displays,  and  one  which  ought  for  ever  to  be  preserved  free  for 
that  use. 

Resolved,  That  we  cannot  but  deny  the  propriety  of  conferring  on  one  body  of  men  a 
monopoly  of  so  great  an  extent  as  this  will  be  of  controlling  the  immense  passenger  traffic 
of  Broadway,  holding  that  such  traffic  should  be  free  like  other  business  falling  to  the  lot 
of  those  who  may  by  energy,  attention,  and  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  public  wants,  best 
deserve  the  patronage  of  the  people. 

Resolved,  That  the  proposed  Broadway  Railway  is  contrary  to  the  uniformly  expressed 
wishes  of  the  owners  of  property  on  the  street,  and  is  only  sought  by  a  few,  whose  sole  aim 
is  the  advancement  of  their  own  selfish  ends. 

Resolved,  That  we  consider  the  entire  plan  as  a  money-making  job — its  projectors  found- 
ing their  hopes  for  its  success  upon  the  usual  indifference  of  our  citizens  generally,  as  to 
what  is  being  done  affecting  their  interests,  until  it  is  too  late  to  do  more  in  opposition  than 
to  repent  inactivity. 

Resolved.,  That  as  we  now  have  the  Hudson  river,  the  Eighth  Avenue,  the  Sixth  Avenue, 
and  the  Harlem  roads,  and  are  likely  soon  to  have  the  New  Haven  road  on  the  Second  Ave- 
nue, it  is  expedient  to  preserve  one  main  artery  of  our  city  circulation  free  from  such 
encumbering  nuisances :  these  five  railways  being  deemed  sufficient  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  trade,  and  to  afford  ample  facility  to  all  preferring  that  mode  of  transit. 

Resolved,  That  the  proposed  railway  is  entirely  unnecessary  for  the  purpose  of  increasuig 
the  facility  of  transit  from  the  upper  part  of  our  city  to  the  lower,  in  consequence  of  the 
approximation  of  other  lines  of  road  to  the  course  of  Broadway — the  Harlem  road  being 
within  a  block  at  Fourteenth  street,  the  Sixth  Avenue  road  crossing  at  Thirty-fourth  street, 
the  Eighth  Avenue  road  at  about  Seventeenth  street,  and  the  Hudson  River  road  approach- 
ing within  an  inconsiderable  distance,  at  Manhattanville — all  of  them  wide  tracks,  and  of 
capacity  sufficient  to  accommodate  any  probable  increase  of  up  town  populatian  for  years 
to  come. 

Resolved,  That  the  Special  Committee  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  to  whom  will  be  re- 
ferred our  remonstrances  against  this  scheme,  be  requested  to  carefully  and  closely  examine 
said  remonstrances,  that  they  may  therefrom  ascertain  how  general  is  the  opposition  to  this 
plan,  from  the  actual  owners  and  occupants  of  Broadway  property,  and  that  they  may  be 
induced  to  govern  their  action  in  the  matter  in  accordance  with  the  expressed  views  of  the 
parties,  whose  wishes,  certainly,  are  entitled  to  paramount  consideration. 

The  resolutions  were  adopted  unanimously. 

The  following  "  Resolution"  was  then  read  by  the  chair  : 

Resolved,  That  a  Standing  Committee  of  Twenty-one  be  appointed  to  receive  Comnmni- 


5 


actions,  and  to  consider  and  report  at  a  future  meeting  to  be  called  by  them,  the  best  mode 
©f  relieving  Broadway  from  its  present  interruptions  to  travel ;  and  that  said  Committee  be 
authorized  to  confer  with  owners  and  occupants  represented  at  this  meeting,  and  with  the 
«ity  authorities,  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing  this  most  desirable  object. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  unanimously  appointed  on  the  Standing  Committee : 

JAMES  R.  WHITING,  SEABURY  BREWSTER,  GEO.  LOVETT, 

RICHD.  MORTIMER,  RICH'D.  F.  CARMAN,  J.  J.  JONES, 

WM.  B.  ASTOR.  PETER  LORILLARD,  A.  T.  STEWART, 

THOS.  A.  DAVIES,  SIMEON  LELAND,  PHILIP  BURROWES, 

WM.  D.  BOOTH,  J.  B.  MONNOT,  B.  L.  SOLOMAN, 

STEPHEN  STORM,  J.  J.  CISCO,  B.  L.  SWAN,  Jr. 

PETER  GOELET,  H.  BOSTWICK,  WM.  NIBLO. 

And  the  President,  CHESTER  DIGGS,  was  added  to  the  Committee. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  of  said  Committee  of  Twenty-one,  held  on  17th  August,  Jas.  R. 
Whiting  in  the  chair,  a  quorum  being  present,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  a  Committee  of  Five  be  appointed  to  prepare  and  report  to  this  Committee 
a  suitable  "  remonstrance,"  stating  the  reasons  why  a  Railroad  should  not  be  permitted  to 
encumber  Broadway. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  placed  on  said  Committee : 

T.  A.  DAVIES,  Chairman. 
J.  J.  CISCO,  H.  BOSTWICK, 

STEPHEN  STORM,       PHILIP  BURROWES, 
And,  on  motion,  JAS.  R.  WHITING  was  added  to  the  number. 

The  Standing  Committee  met  on  the  evening  of  the  6th  September,  and  received  the 
"Report,"  and  said  Report  was,  on  Tuesday  evening,  September  7th,  submitted  to  the 
Mass  Meeting  of  citizens  convened  at  Lafayette  Hall,  and  unanimously  accepted,  and  will 
fee  found  annexed. 

JAMES  R.  WHITING,  Chairman. 

JOHN  O'BRIEN,  Secretary. 
To  the  Hon. 

The  Common  Council  of  the  City  of  J%*eiv  Tfork. 

Gentlemen, 

May  it  please  your  Hon.  Body,  the  undersigned  Owners  of  Property  on  Broadway, 
hearing  with  deep  concern  that  your  Hon.  Body  are  about  to  entertain  petitions  from 
some  Citizents  to  incorporate  themselves  into  a  company  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a 
Railroad  in  Broadway,  and  believing  that  such  a  Railroad  would  be  detrimental  to  th'j 
best  interests  of  the  City  generally,  and  to  our  delightful  thoroughfare  in  particular,  we 
beg  the  privilege  of  entering  our  remonstrances  against  it.  And  although  we  come 
before  you  under  the  disadvantage  of  being  parties  directly  interested  in  the  matter,  we 
•lairn  that  by  virtue  of  that  interest,  we  have  given  the  subject  an  extended  thought 
which  those  having  no  interest  would  not  do.  That  while  we  shall  examine  it  fully 
smd  fairly  in  its  practical  bearings,  we  do  not  intend  to  touch  upon  any  legal  feature 
of  the  case.  And  with  a  view  to  give  the  subject  a  full  consideration,  we  now  divide  it 
into  the  following  heads  : 


6 


1st.  Who  wants  a  Railroad  in  Broadway  ? 
2d.  Broadway  as  it  is. 

And  3d.  Broadway  as  it  would  be  with  a  Railroad. 


WHO  WANTS  A  RAILROAD  IN  BROADWAY  ? 

This  is  a  very  important  question  to  be  asked,  and  a  very  important  question  to  be 
answered.  In  order  to  answer  it  understandingly,  we  must  refer  to  those  who  travel,  do 
business  or  own  property  in  this  street.  It  is  urged  as  an  argument  for  it,  that  many 
of  the  citizens  have  signed  petitions  in  its  favor.  What  new  scheme  could  be  devised,  ever 
so  wild,  that  petitioners  could  not  be  obtained  for  it  1  But  petitioners  do  not  make 
plans  feasible.  How  many  schemes  are  got  up  for  private  ends  that  fall  still-born  from 
their  projectors  ?  Names,  without  they  are  those  of  persons  of  known  intelligence,  can  have 
no  material  bearing  on  an  enterprise  of  this  magnitude.  Your  Honorable  Body  must 
therefore  scrutinize  with  great  care  and  judgment  the  long  lists  of  names  that  will  be 
unreeled  in  your  Halls  and  held  up  to  you  as  the  expression  of  public  opinion  upon  this 
subject. 

Those  who  use  Broadway  by  means  of  wheeled  vehicles,  such  as  omnibuses,  carriages, 
carts,  wagons  and  nameless  other  vehicles — those  who  live  on  Broadway  or  own  property 
thereon — who  ride  or  walk  therein,  or  do  business  along  its  line — would  naturally  be 
supposed  those  whose  voices  in  this  matter  before  your  Honorable  Body  should  be 
listened  to  with  profound  attention.  And  when  the  final  array  of  names  for  and  against 
this  plan  shall  be  placed  before  you  for  consideration,  we  ask  no  surer  pledge  of  its 
defeat  at  your  hands  than  to  hold  the  scales  of  Justice  steady  and  true,  and  let  the  question 
be  decided  according  to  the  high  principles  of  our  Republican  Government. 

Do  the  owners  or  drivers  of  omnibuses  want  a  railroad  in  Broadway  %  It  is  useless  to 
ask  this  question,  as  it  will  be  answered  at  once  in  the  negative.  Does  any  man  who 
drives  a  cart  in  Broadway  want  a  railroad  there  ?  If  there  is  one  to  be  found  in  the  city, 
this  Committee  have  been  unable  to  discover  him.  Does  any  individual  who  drives  a 
wheeled  vehicle  on  that  street,  want  a  railroad  ?  The  good  sense  of  your  Honorable  Body 
will  tell  you  at  once  that  no  one  who  drives  there  for  pleasure  or  a  living  wants  a  railroad 
in  Broadway,  and  if  there  should  be  one  found  accidentally,  it  must  be  some  one  connected 
with  the  scheme.  Stop  one  hundred  vehicles  in  Broadway  and  ask  the  question ;  in  all 
probability  not  one  will  be  found  among  the  number  who  would  be  in  favor  of  the  plan. 
Do  the  tenants  in  Broadway  want  the  railroad  1  We  acknowledge  that  many  of  this  class, 
though  not  one-eighth  of  them,  may  want  a  railroad^and  that  some  have  signed  petitions  in 
its  favor.  But  they  calculate  erroneously  when  they  suppose  it  will  decrease  their  rents, 
without  also  decreasing  their  business  in  a  greater  ratio.  Do  those  who  ride  in  omnibuses 
in  Broadway,  want  the  railroad  there  1  Far  the  greatest  proportion  of  those  who  thus 
ride  in  Broadway  are  those  who  enter  it  in  the  side  lines,  probably  about  fifty  to  one,  if  not 
a  much  greater  proportion.  We  will  therefore  propose  this  simple  question.  Suppose  a 
passenger  on  the  east  or  west  side  of  the  city  was  desirous  of  going  to  Wall  street,  on  a 
rainy  day,  and  was  asked  :  Will  you  take  an  omnibus  at  your  door  and  ride  to  Wall  street 
without  changing  your  seat,  or  will  you,  when  you  arrive  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and 
Bleeckcr  street,  (if  you  please,  or  any  other  line  subject  to  the  change  into  the  railroad 
car,  as  is  proposed,)  change  into  a  rail  car  with  the  chances  of  wet  feet,  and  mud  probably 
ancle  deep,  with  the  car  in  the  centre  of  the  street,  if  you  are  lucky  enough  to  get  one  not 
entirely  full  ?  What  think  your  Honorable  Body  would  be  the  answer  of  that  indivinual  1 
If  you  are  satisfied  with  the  answer,  then  take  the  vote  of  the  riding  population  on  that 


7 


day,  and  record  it.  How  many  advocates  would  you  find  for  a  railroad  in  Broadway  1 
And  as  you  legislate  for  the  people,  and  are  placed  in  your  positions  of  responsibility 
because  they  suppose  you  competent  to  fill  that  place,  are  you  prepared  to  inflict  on  them 
such  an  everlasting  inconvenience  ?  We  say,  let  tJhe  street  he  inconvenienced  by  omnibuses 
and  carts,  rather  than  the  people. 

We  have  here  spoken  of  a  rainy  day,  to  make  the  case  more  apparent ;  but  take  any  day. 
and  your  own  good  judgment  will  decide  whether  ladies,  women,  and  children,  or  even 
gentlemen,  will  be  better  satisfied  to  clamber  in  and  clamber  out,  first  from  omnibuses  to 
rail  cars,  and  from  rail  cars  to  omnibuses — in  most  seasons  of  the  year  wading  in  slush 
and  mud  ancle  deep — or  whether  they  would  prefer  one  steady  course  and  not  be  subject 
to  such  inconveniencies.  Do  the  property  owners  in  Broadway  want  a  railroad  in 
Broadway  ? 

So  far  as  this  Committee  has  been  able  to  ascertain,  only  a  few  individuals  owning 
property  in  Broadway  approve  or  have  signed  petitions  to  your  Hon.  Board  in  favour  of 
laying  down  a  railroad.  While  we  understand  that  nearly  every  owner,  or  at  least  a 
great  majority  of  them,  throughout  its  whole  length  have  remonstrated  against  it. 

This  fact  alone  should  be  a  final  check  to  this  scheme,  if  it  be  rightly  developed,  and 
rightly  and  candidly  considered. 

The  great  argument  in  favor  of  this  plan,  which  has  been  expatiated  upon,  and  which 
stands  out  boldest  on  every  line  that  has  been  printed  upon  this  subject,  and  which  has 
been  attenuated  to  such  an  extent  that  its  projectors  might  almost  be  thanked  by 
the  Broadway  owners  for  their  philanthropy,  is,  that  the  railroad  is  greatly  to  enhance 
the  value  of  property  in  Broadway  and  run  it  up  from  its  present  high  prices  at  least 
twenty  or  twenty-five  per  cent.    (See  their  circular.) 

Now,  may  it  please  your  Honorable  Board  to  look  with  care  at  the  names  of  those 
remonstrating  against  this  project,  who  are  owners  of  property  on  Broadway,  and  judge 
for  yourselves  whether  they  are  competent  to  decide  whether  this  plan  will  or  will  not 
accelerate  and  aid  the  travel  in  Broadway,  and  if  so,  necessarily  increase  the  value  ot 
property  upon  that  street.  Whether  this  string  of  men  from  the  Battery  to  Union 
Square,  yes,  even  to  Manhattanville,  are  not  persons  who,  by  foresight  and  prudence,  have 
made  this  property,  and  are  therefore  competent  to  judge  as  to  any  advantage  that  can 
accrue  to  them  or  their  property  from  such  a  project. 

The  whole  matter  mainly  rests  on  this  fact :  If  travel  will  be  accelerated  and  made 
easier  and  more  convenient  in  Broadway  by  this  plan,  then  the  property  along  the  line 
must  be  increased  in  value. 

Now,  among  the  owners  of  property  on  Broadway,  are  some  staunch,  far-seeing,  shrewd, 
intelligent,  and  prominent  men — men  whose  opinions  on  matters  involving  millions  are 
sought  for  daily — who,  on  this  subject,  have  expressed  one  almost  universal  dissent  to  this 
plan,  or  any  other ;  and,  even  in  the  face  of  this  oft-repeated  attempt  and  failure,  and  this 
array  of  names  entirely  unequaled  in  unanimity,  this  Committee  are  informed  that  your 
Honorable  Board  are  in  danger  of  disregarding  their  remonstrances,  and  listening  to  the 
interested  representations  of  a  few  persons  whose  cupidity  drives  them  to  any  extremes. 

Is  it  supposable  for  one  moment  that  if  these  owners  of  Broadway  property  could  see  a 
reasonable  chance,  even,  in  this  plan  to  benefit  the  traveling  interest  in  Broadway,  that 
ishere  would  not  be  some  respectable  number  of  them  who  would  be  in  favor  of  this  plan  ? 
Certainly,  there  would  be,  even  for  the  chance :  and  the  certainty  would  bring  to  its 
support  the  entire  line  of  Broadway  owners. 

But,  after  all  the  arguments  which  have  been  published  in  the  papers  from  day  to  day, 
showing  of  plans,  wood-cuts,  and  exaggerated  representations,  circulating  petitions,  public 
speaking,  agitation  of  the  subject  for  ten  years,  we  yet  find  these  Broadway  owners  firm 
against  the  project  almost  to  a  man . 


I 


8 


Now,  may  it  please  your  Honorable  Body,  is  this  intrinsic  evidence  that  this  railroad 
is  to  greatly  benefit  the  traveling  in  Broadway  %  Is  this  intrinsic  evidence  that  it  will 
be  a  public  benefit  ?  Is  this  evidence  that  the  community  are  to  be  easier  run  up  and 
down  Broadway,  and  that  that  thoroughfare  is  to  be  made  more  beautiful,  more  safe,  and  more 
expeditious  ?  No ;  it  is  the  certificate  of  the  representatives  of  over  50,000,000  of  dollars  of 
property,  which  is  to  be  directly  affected  by  it,  that  it  is  a  scheme  to  secure  the  exclusive 
or  partial  right  to  the  carrying  trade  of  Broadway  by  any  plan  that  will  be  fatal  to  its 
best  and  choicest  interests  j  it  is  a  direct  effort,  in  an  indirect  way,  to  fill  the  pockets 
of  a  few  speculators  by  robbing  the  public  of  its  comforts,  and  depriving  them  of  riding 
in  such  manner  as  they  choose  through  Broadway,  and  compelling  them  to  ride  as  these 
speculators  may  direct  and  your  Honorable  Body  allow. 


BROADWAY  AS  IT  IS. 

It  is  acknowledged  by  foreigners,  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  by  every  person  of 
observation,  that  Broadway  is  the  Broadway  of  the  world.  No  such  street  can  be 
found  in  any  city — no  such  street  can  be  found  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  They  speak 
of  Broadway  in  India — in  every  quarter  of  the  globe — in  islands  of  the  ocean  scarcely 
known  to  us — throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  civilized  world,  where  even 
the  name  of  the  state  or  *he  city  in  which  it  lies  is  sometimes  unknown.  It  is  the 
pride  and  reigning  beauty  of  this  metropolis ;  it  is  the  pride  and  boast  of  every  American  ; 
it  is  the  summit  of  fashion,  of  beauty,  of  elegance,  and  of  usefulness.  Along  its  length 
rises  palace  after  palace,  till  the  eye  is  satiated  with  accumulated  architectural  beauty, 
elaborated  by  the  expenditure  of  millions  of  dollars,  to  display,  for  the  use  and  comfort  of 
our  people,  the  fabrics  and  necessaries  of  life. 

No  useful  article  that  is  made,  no  fabric  that  is  woven,  no  fruift  or  delicacy  that  will  bear 
transportation,  no  ornament,  in  fact  nothing,  either  of  science,  literature,  art,  or  production, 
that  cannot  be  found  along  its  way.  Why  is  this  so  ?  Why  is  it,  what  is  it,  and  why  this 
prosperity  ? 

Can  we  attribute  it  to  the  want  of  some  unknown  agent,  some  scheme  not  yet  matured, 
some  visionary  project  of  unskilful  minds — can  we  say  our  present  system  of  locomotion  in 
Broadway  is  defective,  when  these  facts  and  this  prosperity  stares  us  in  the  face  and 
silences  that  assertion. 

Can  we  say  that  the  thousands  on  thousands  of  our  citizens  who  crowd  Broadway  and 
these  stores,  shops  and  hotels,  and  ride  in  such  vehicles  as  are  now  provided,  do  so  because 
of  their  imperfection,  and  because  they  want  and  require  others  ?  Has  not  Broadway 
grown  up,  increased,  become  valuable,  and  by  virtue  of  these  present  arrangements,  draws 
thousands  within  its  limits  hourly  and  daily  ?  Do  we  want  a  majority  vote,  or  the  circu- 
lation of  petitions  to  present  to  your  Honorable  Body,  to  show  that  the  world  is  satisfied 
with  Broadway  as  it  is  ?  These  same  crowds  can  procure,  in  almost  any  other  part  of  the 
city,  what  they  desired,  if  Broadway  was  uncomfortable  or  unpleasant  to  them.  But  no, 
the  fact,  the  great  existing  fact,  is  proof  of  the  voice  and  will  of  the  people  of  this  city, 
the  country  and  the  world,  and  your  Honorable  Body  would  be  wanting  in  the  ordinary 
wisdom  of  man  not  to  heed  this  silent,  yet  powerful  appeal. 

Where,  on  this  continent,  can  the  poor  man,  living  in  any  part  of  a  city,  take  a  carriage 
at  his  own  door,  and  at  his  call,  which  is  comfortable,  safe  and  reasonably  expeditious,  and 
for  the  trifle  of  six  and  a  quarter  cents,  be  shown  miles  lapped  on  miles  of  a  panorama, 
combining  elegance,  beauty,  refinement,  pleasure,  business,  and  so  many  splendors  of  the 
world  ? 


9 


And  yet  some  of  your  Honorable  Body  listen  with  complacency  to  a  fundamental  change 
in  these  comforts,  substituting  therefore,  with  all  their  inconveniences,  narrow  railroad 
ears,  resembling  stinted  dove  cotes,  or  else  mounting  those  who  would  ride  to  rest  an 
aching  limb,  up  a  flight  of  stairs  to  the  second  story  of  those  balloon,  sky-reaching,  con- 
veyances. 

The  whole  conception  and  plan  is  truly  and  emphatically  a  scheme  that  would  do  honoi 
to  any  page  of  the  Arabian  Nights'  Entertainments,  and  should  its  projectors  be  successful 
in  their  undertaking,  they  may  say  with  truth  to  your  Honorable  Body,  that  they  have 
found  the  Alladin's  Lamp — 


BROADWAY  AS  IT  WILL  BE  WITH  A  RAILROAD. 

We  might  be  thankful,  indeed,  if  we  should  find  ourselves  suddenly  transported  from 
Broadway  as  it  is,  into  Broadway  as  is  represented  upon  an  elaborate  wood-cut  lately  put 
forth,  and  which  represents  the  rail  cars  in  Broadway,  according  to  what  is  claimed  by 
'*  Pro  Bono  Publico,"  as  the  plan  decided  upon  by  the  Petitioners  to  the  Common  Council, 
but  disclaimed  to  be  such  by  them. — (See  their  letter,  in  which  they  say  substantially 
they  have  no  fixed  plan,  but  rely  upon  the  Common  Council.) 

Though,  as  that  picture  is  on  one  half  of  a  sheet  of  paper  on  which  their  names  are 
found,  giving  general  notions  about  a  Railroad,  it  would  be  taken  by  the  community  as  u 
picture  which  they  would  endorse  as  a  true  representation  of  facts. 

But  they  disclaim  the  truth  of  that  picture,  and  the  community  must  determine 
whether  they  intended  this  fraudulent  representation  or  not.  They  say  it  is  a  mistake 
of  the  artist. 

Though  they  do  not  acknowledge  the  picture  as  correct,  we  have  the  right,  since  it  is 
made  a  public  document,  to  examine  it,  and  let  the  community  and  the  Petitioners  know 
what  it  is,  and  leave  them  to  draw  their  own  conclusions.  It  represents  the  proposed  rail- 
road and  cars  in  Broadway  near  the  Museum,  and  is  a  perfect  falsity  and  fraud  in  repre- 
sentation. The  true  state  of  the  case  could  not  be  represented  without  showing  its  entire 
deformity.  The  artist,  in  order  to  favor  dimensions,  has  made  the  cars,  carriages,  and 
horses  diminutively  small,  and  not  one  half  their  real  dimensions,  taking  the  width  oi 
Broadway  as  the  standard  of  measure.  Supposing  the  width  of  the  car  to  be  four  feet,  as 
stated  by  "  Pro  Bono  Publico,"  then  Broadway  is  represented  to  be  sixty  feet  wide  from 
curb  to  curb,  and  the  stories  of  the  car  would  be  only  four  feet  high,  which  would  be  rather 
confined  for  use.  But  in  truth  the  artist  has  taken  the  width  of  the  cars  to  be  five  and  a 
half  feet,  and  height  of  stories  the  same,  by  which  measure  Broadway  is  represented  to  be 
about  eighty-two  feet  from  curb  to  curb,  instead  of  an  average  of  forty-one  feet,  as  it  is 
And  measuring  it  by  any  perspective  rule,  the  picture  is  a  gross  fabrication  and  misrepre- 
sentation of  facts,  and  calculated  to  mislead  the  public  mind. 

As  these  Railroad  Petititioners  have  admitted,  over  their  own  signatures  and  in  private 
eonversations,  and  the  anonymous  writer,  "  Pro  Bono  Publico,"  has  declared  the  same  in 
the  newspapers,  that  all  the  plans  which  have  been  submitted  to  the  publie  heretofore  have 
been  defective,  and  been  justly  condemned  because  of  those  defects,  a  member  of  this 
committee,  for  his  own  satisfaction,  and  deeming  it  of  importance  to  ascertain  what  their 
precise  plan  was,  addressed  them  a  note,  as  follows : 


10 


New  York,  Aug.  24,  1852. 

To  William  Menzes, 

Jacob  Sharp, 

Freeman  Campbell, 

John  Anderson, 

D.  Randolph  Martin.  . 
Stents  : — 

As  I  am  one  of  a  Committee  appointed  by  the  General  Committee  of  Owners  of  Broad- 
way Property,  convened  at  the  Metropolitan  Hotel,  Aug.  17,  1852,  to  make  a  report  to  the 
Common  Council,  setting  forth  Objections  to  a  Railroad  in  Broadway,  and  as  you  have 
submitted  a  plan  to  the  public,  and  I  believe  the  only  one  now  under  consideration,  will 
you  do  me  the  favor  to  answer  the  following  questions  : 

1st.  State  the  width  of  track,  the  number  of  tracks  and  turnouts,  if  any. 

2d.  State  the  width  of  groove  and  the  depth  of  groove. 

3d.  State  the  outside  width  of  cars,  height  of  stories,  length  and  general  arrangements 
succinctly. 

4th.  State  number  of  passengers  which  can  be  seated  in  each  story. 
5th.  State  where  to  start  from  and  where  to  go  to. 

6th.  State  how  you  propose  to  groove  theRuss  pavement  to  lay  in  the  rails,  and  whether 
it  will  be  necessary  to  take  it  up  to  do  so  or  not. 

7th.  State  the  fare  to  be  charged  to  Park  Row  from  your  starting  point,  also,  to  Canal 
street,  to  Grand  street,  to  Bleecker  street,  to  Amity  street,  Eighth  street,  Ninth  street 
Fourteenth  street,  and  to  your  termination  ;  and,  also,  the  downward  fare  to  these  points. 

8th.  State  also  whether  your  plans  are  based  upon  the  exchange  passenger  ticket 
system  at  these  various  points,  and  also  whether  it  is  predicated  upon  the  disuse  altogether 
of  omnibuses  in  Broadway. 

7th.  State  the  provisions  for  running  the  centre  line,  and  how  you  dispose  of  cars — be 
paritculat  in  this. 

Respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

Thos.  A.  Davies. 


To  which  he  received  the  following  reply : 

New  York,  Aug.  25,  1852. 

Thomas  A.  Davies,  Esq., 

Member  of  the  Committee,  &c. 

Sir, 

We  have  received  your  inquiries,  together  with  our  communication  of  yesterday 
to  your  Committee,  which  was  directed  to  be  returned  to  us,  on  the  uninteligible  ground  of 
Its  being  addressed  to  the  Committee  and  not  to  yourself  individually.  We  cannot  see 
how  it  could  have  been  otherwise  addressed  with  any  propriety. 

We  regret  such  an  indication  of  indisposition  to  grant  the  fair  and  reasonable  request 
,de  by  us.    We  are  conscious  too  that  it  would  fully  justify  us,  as  we  believe  your  Com- 
mittee would  themselves  fully  recognize,  in  respectfully  declining  to  answer  your  interro- 
gatories at  all.    Stil»I,  however,  we  shall  not  pursue  that  course. 

On  examining  them  we  find  that  there  are  but  very  few  points  on  which  we  could  have 
reason  to  do  more  than  to  refer  you  to  the  full  manner  in  which  the  whole  subject  has 
been  recently  discussed  in  the  public  press  by  the  author  of  the  articles  signed  "  Pro  Bono 
Publico." 

Your  inquiry  about  our  intended  termini,  it  would  be  manifestly  improper  for  us  to  an- 
swer at  present,  until  we  shall  know  the  result  of  our  application  to  the  Common  Council, 


11 


and  shall  have  then,  moreover,  secured  our  necessary  location.  It  is  certainly  a  point  im- 
material to  the  qestion  between  railroad  and  omnibuses. 

So,  too,  in  regard  to  your  minute  inquiries  respecting  the  fare  from  point  to  point,  even 
down  to  a  distinction  between  the  fare  to  Eighth  street  and  Ninth.  Not  only  is  this,  too,  a 
circumstance  immaterial  to  the  question  between  the  two  systems  of  conveyance,  but  also 
it  is  one  on  which  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  answer  you  more  specifically,  consistently  with 
fair  and  reasonable  regard  to  safety  in  such  an  enterprise,  until  we  know  how  onerons  may 
be  the  burthen  of  terms  and  conditions  that  may  be  imposed  by  the  Common  Council. 

Respecting  the  turnouts  we  have  no  conclusions  settled:  our  impression  is  that  there 
might  as  well  as  not  be  a  turnout  at  each  of  the  stopping  places  of  the  through  cars.  It  is 
a  point  proper  to  be  prescribed  by  the  Common  Council. 

Indeed,  sir,  our  attention  has  been  less  directed  to  such  details,  with  a  view  to  their  ex- 
act and  definite  settlement  in  advance,  than  to  the  larger  plain  leading  ideas  of  our  pro- 
posed improvement — namely,  the  necessity  of  relieving  Broadway,  and  of  doing  so  still  more 
than  by  any  mere  opening  of  a  side  street ;  the  existing  and  daily  increasing  demand  for  a 
larger  force  of  conveyance  on  that  central  trunk  route  ;  the  consequent  necessity  which  has 
long  pressed  and  is  daily  pressing  more  and  more,  of  giving  to  the  motive  power  the  great 
help  of  iron  rails,  so  as  to  enable  the  single  pair  of  horses  to  move  a  much  larger  number 
of  passengers  in  a  single  vehicle  than  is,  or  can  now  be  done  :  the  general  benefit  to  Broadway 
of  having  all  its  passenger  travel  limited  to  the  very  middle  thirteen  feet  of  the  street,  that 
very  middle  portion  being,  to  a  very  large  extent,  free  from  other  vehicles,  in  addition  to 
the  simultaneous  disencumbering  of  the  sides  of  the  street  likewise  for  their  use ;  and 
finally  the  very  superior  comfort,  noiselessness,  and  speed  of  the  cars  over  omnibuses, 
together  with  the  relief  of  the  pavement  from  wear  and  tear,  and  also  that  improvement 
in  cheapness  which  must  follow  the  great  economy  of  motive  power  and  vehicles  incident 
to  the  use  of  iron  rails.  These,  the  leading  ideas  of  the  subject,  rather  than  those  minute 
details,  the  determination  of  which  belongs  rather  to  the  period  of  commencing  practical 
operations,  have  mainly  occupied  our  thoughts.  On  these  leading  ideas  we  are  willing  to 
be  judged  by  the  Common  Council  and  the  public,  without  paying  much  regard  to  micro- 
scopic flaws  that  may  or  may  not  be  picked  in  particular  suggestions  of  small  details.  On 
all  such  points,  and  on  all  the  points  of  the  matter,  we  are,  of  course, -subject  to  the  con- 
ditions and  regulations  that  may  be  prescribed  by  the  Common  Council,  if  they  shall  grant 
our  application,  and,  indeeed  open  to  any  good  suggestions  of  modification  to  any  details  of 
our  own  plans  as  we  have  freely  set  them  forth,  from  whatsoever  quarter  they  may 
proceed. 

Indeed,  sir,  we  hope  to  hold  ourselves  always  ready  to  welcome  gladly  and  liberally,  in- 
stead of  repelling  with  unwilling  and  suspicious  prejudice,  all  and  any  ideas  of  useful 
improvement. 

We  have  the  honor  to  remain. 

Very  respectfuUly  your  obedient  servant, 

John  Anderson, 
Jacob  Sharp, 
William  Mlnzies, 
(For  themselves  and  Associates.) 


These,  may  it  please  your  Honorable  Body,  are  the  frank  answers  given  by  your  Peti- 
tioners, communicating  information  as  to  their  plan  of  Railroad  in  Broadway.  This  is  the 
satisfaction  which  the  public  and  the  Petitioners  have  for  their  strenuous  efforts  to  ascertain 
what  is  to  be  put  in  Broadway,  and  in  what  respects  this  new  improvement  which  they 
propose  differs  from  the  old  ones  that  have  been  suggested,  and  in  rotation  been  con- 


12 

demned.  The  sum  and  substance  of  their  answer  seems  to  be,  that  they  have  a  general 
notion  of  a  Railroad  in  Broadway,  and  expect  your  Honorable  Body  to  lay  down  a  plan 
that  will  answer,  and  make  up  the  deficiencies  of  the  old  ones. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  they  really  have  a  plan,  why  do  they  hesitate  to  show  it  to  the 
public,  and  acknowledge  it  over  their  signatures.  If  they  intend  to  have  three  tracks,  or 
rely  upon  the  exchange  ticket  system,  or  upon  three  cent  fare,  let  these  Petitioners  affirm 
those  facts  to  the  public,  and  let  their  plan  be  judged  of  on  these  grounds,  but  not  hold  up 
such  reasons  in  favor  of  a  road  which  they  never  will,  never  can,  or  never  intend  to  put 
in  operation  on  such  a  basis.  They  shrewdly  refer  to  public  discussions  under  an  anonymou* 
name,  but  do  not,  nor  will  not,  answer  these  questions  to  the  public,  and  make  them  the 
basis  of  their  plan.  It  is  a  great  gull  trap  for  Petitioners,  and  the  deceit  and  falsehood 
practised  upon  them  in  the  wood-cut  referred  to  is  the  mere  exponent  of  the  whole  affair. 

And  finally,  this  grand  scheme  will  be  held  up  to  the  public  as  the  fancy  railroad  of  the 
day,  till  it  comes  before  the  Common  Council,  when  some  great  shift  will  take  place,  prob- 
ably the  centre  line  will  be  slipped  out,  the  cars  widened,  the  exchange  ticket  system 
abandoned,  the  three  cent  fare  increased  to  five,  probably  to  six  cents,  then  the  thing 
taking  a  new  shape,  but  an  old  one  in  reality,  will,  if  possible,  be  urged  through  your  Hon- 
orable Body,  using  the  entire  strength  of  the  petitions  based  upon  one  plan  for  the  support 
of  another,  over-riding  objections  which  have  existed  for  years,  and  still  exist,  and  inflict 
upon  the  community  a  curse,  a  two-track  line  and  the  omnibuses  together,  which,  when 
the  people  have  had  the  full  view  of  what  was  intended,  they  have  strangled  in  its  birth 
from  time  to  time.  These  toy  shop  cars,  this  three-track  dodge,  this  exchange  ticket  sys- 
tem, and  three  cent  fares,  are  mere  baits,  absurd  and  impracticable  as  they  are,  to  catch 
the  public  eye,  and  gain  petitioners.  And  these  speculators  will  secure  the  names  of  these 
unsuspecting  persons  and  use  them  to  bring  about  a  state  of  things  in  Broadway,  which 
they  never  dreamed  of  when  they  signed  these  petitions.  Though,  whether  these  Petitioners 
take  the  plan  proposed  by  the  anonymous  "  Pro  Bono  Publico,-'  or  any  other,  is  of  little  or  no 
consequence,  as  it  does  not  vary  the  total  impracticability  of  a  railroad  in  Broadway.  But  its 
practicability  or  impracticability  does  not  depend  upon  how  many  can  be  seated  in  one  kind 
or  another  of  a  car.  The  main  effect  of  doing  the  business  on  two  or  even  on  three  tracks 
(the  more  the  worse  in  the  fixed  width  of  Broadway),  gives  rigidity  to  the  whole,  and  has 
the  tendency  to  decrease  the  ability  of  the  street  to  convey.  For  in  the  rail  cars,  where  we 
have  38  to  40  passengers,  by  stopping,  37  to  39  are  delayed,  while  in  an  omnibus  load  only 
11  are  detained.  This,  in  the  total  detention  of  some  15  or  20,000  people  a  day,  wii 
amount  to  something,  and  any  man  must  have  taken  leave  of  his  senses  to  suppose  that 
with  all  the  obstructions  incident  to  Broadway,  that  travel  will  be  as  expeditious  in  cars  as 
it  is  now  in  omnibuses.  Need  we  go  back  to  the  50  passenger  omnibuses,  which  have  been 
abandoned  on  this  ground,  to  prove  this  fact ! 

A  member  of  this  Committee  asked  one  of  the  Petitioners  what  they  intended  to  do  with 
the  cars  and  horses  of  the  centre  line  during  the  day.  The  answer  was  that  the  cars 
were' to  be  stored  in  the  lofts  and  basement  of  a  large  building  down  town,  at  the  terminus. 
It  was  not  stated  what  was  to  be  done  with  the  horses  :  so  that  this  plan  consists  in  run- 
ning down  a  large  number  of  ears  on  the  centre  line  in  the  morning ; — as  many,  they  6ay. 
as  will  carry  the  surplus  flood,  and  as  fast  as  they  arrive  below  are  stored,  and  there 
remain  till  evening,  when  they  run  up  again.  But  if  the  cars  should  happen  not  to  start 
in  the  right  time,  and  the  people  were  not  ready  to  go,  the  cars  would  run  through 
empty,  and  the  people  would  have  to  walk  ! !  So  that  this  display  about  a  centre  through 
line  amounts  to  just  deceit  or  nonsense,  as  the  utter  impracticability  of  it  must  be  mani- 
fest to  every  man  of  sense. 

Then  this  taking  idea,  held  out  to  the  unreflecting,  in  respect  to  these  "reliable 


through  conveyances,  at  rapid  and  regular  intervals,  combined  with  stopping  ones,1'  take,* 
its  flight  at  once,  when  no  such  thing  can  take  place  on  the  three  tracks,  and  certainly  not 
•n  two,  except  when  this  imaginary  army  of  centre  line  cars  march  up  the  hill  together  in 
the  evening,  and  down  again  in  the  morning.  And  we  think  your  Honorable  Body  cannot 
but  smile  at  such  fanciful  engineering,  if  seriously  intended. 

There  is  one  other  point  in  respect  to  the  three-track  plan  that  must  be  spoken  of  in  this 
place.  That  is,  the  street  is  so  narrow  that  they  propose  making  the  cars  3  feet  9  inches 
in  the  inside  clear,  and  on  account  of  such  narrow  width,  the  entrances  to  them  are  at  the 
sides,  and  the  cars  on  the  tracks  run  within  six  inches  of  each  other.  It  is  impossible, 
with  three  tracks,  to  make  tliem  otherwise.  Such  a  conception  is  worthy  of  and,  if  possi- 
ble, would  exceed  in  execution  the  far-famed  Guillotine  of  the  French  Revolution.  They 
do  not  know  what  they  are  proposing,  and  if  they  do  they  have  but  little  regard  for 
human  life.  With  these  sides  opening  to  the  cars  and  no  means  of  protection,  there 
would  not  be  a  day  or  hardly  an  hour  pass,  with  these  machines  in  operation,  that  some  of 
our  citizens  would  not  be  called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  a  friend  or  a  relative.  We  all 
know  it  is  sufficiently  dangerous  to  get  out  of  the  rear  of  an  omnibus,  which  partially 
protects  ;  but  these  side-doors  would  be,  in  the  crowded  state  of  Broadway,  the  yawning 
mouth  of  death. 

And  now,  as  we  have  considered  some  of  the  objections  to  this  plan,  which  are  peculiar 
to  it  alone,  we  will  consider  the  two-track  line,  which,  if  such  a  visionary  project  as  a 
railroad  in  Broadway  is  carried  out,  it  will  be  upon  that  plan.  But  these  objections  will 
be  in  a  measure  applicable  to  both. 

Without  giving  any  better  ground  for  the  calculation  than  that  which  "  Pro  Bono  Publico," 
the  anonymous  writer,  has,  whose  interest  it  is  to  make  the  statement  as  low  as  possible, 
and  with  that  view  selected  a  few  days  in  August,  possibly  not  intentionally,  when  nearly 
everybody  was  out  of  town  and  the  city  very  dull.  He  admits  a  maximum  flood  in  Broad- 
way at  one  time  to  be  2,800.  We  presume  that  4.500  during  the  business  season  may  be 
assumed  as  a  fair  maximum  in  one  direction  during  the  flood.  This  also  corresponds  with 
facts,  as  can  be  demonstrated  easier  by  examination  than  by  paper  calculations,  for  the 
omnibuses  follow  each  other  at  times  in  the  morning  and  evening  through  Broadway, 
almost  in  one  unbroken  line.  Now,  we  would  ask  your  Honorable  Body  whether  any  cal- 
culation could  be  made  shrewdly  enough  to  convince  you  that  these  passengers  could  be 
conveyed  as  expeditiously  with  the  peculiar  state  of  things  existing  in  this  street  up  and 
down  on  rails,  as  they  are  now  conveyed  in  the  omnibuses.  But  for  the  sake  of  seeing  how 
this  would  answer  on  a  two-track  road,  the  three  track  being  absurd,  we  will  take  the 
number  of  passengers  to  be  4.500  in  one  direction  at  one  time,  from  Union  Square  to  the 
Battery.  This  will  require  120  cars,  38  passengers  each,  on  the  track,  going  down  at  one 
time.  These  cars  and  horses  are  38  feet  long  each,  and  10,500  feet  being  about  the  dis- 
tance from  the  Battery  to  Union  Square,  the  cars  and  horses  will  occupy  4,560  feet  of  it 
going  down,  and  the  ears  coming  up  must  occupy  the  same,  as  flcod-tide  lasts  an  hour  or 
more.  The  distance  between  the  cars  going  down  on  one  track  will  be  forty-nine  feet,  and 
the  same  coming  up,  if  every  car  stops  just  alike  !  If  the  cars  going  up  are  opposite  the 
opening  of  those  going  down,  which  they  must  be  every  length  of  car,  how  is  a  carriage  or 
a  pedestrian  to  get  across  Broadway  ?  And  then  a  continuous  stream  of  carriages  up  on  one 
side  of  Broadway  and  down  the  other,  will  shut  out  the  chance  of  a  passenger  getting  to 
the  cars,  should  he  be  ever  so  much  disposed,  and  the  delays  incident  to  getting  in  and  out 
would  be  so  great  that  the  whole  line  would  soon  be  in  confusion,  and  each  car  would  be 
tompelled  to  stop  for  the  other, 
in  the  roads  which  are  already  bnilt  in  the  city,  they  do  very  well,  because  they  have 

AVERY  J 


room,  and  they  mostly  make  un  their  loads  before  starting,  and  discharge  it  nearly  bodily 
at  their  termini. 

Broadway,  however,  is  quite  a  different  thing.  Obstacles  occurring  on  the  track,  such 
as  horses  falling  down,  carts  and  vehicles  of  all  sorts  crossing  the  street,  a  carriage  break- 
ing an  axle,  the  thousand  and  one  things  that  occur  and  are  occurring,  make  this  schema 
wilder  and  more  chimerical,  and  more  impracticable,  the  more  we  examine  and  the  deepen 
we  go  into  calculations. 

Experience  of  the  bitterest  kind  will  undoubtedly  show,  that  tampering  with  such 
important  interests  as  these  will  by  degrees  lessen  the  proud  prosperity  which  we  enjoy, 
and  show  to  us,  when  too  late,  that  we  have  neglected  the  old  adage  of  "  letting  well  enough 
alone"  But  one  word  as  to  the  relief  of  Broadway.  The  relief  of  Broadway  is  spoken  of, 
and  echoes  from  the  mouth  of  almost  every  citizen  day  after  day,  without  their  giving  the 
subject  any  more  thought  than  the  mere  expression  of  the  idea.  What  does  this  expres- 
sion mean  ?  What  do  people  intend  when  they  say,  Relieve  Broadway  ?  Do  they  mean 
that  they  are  willing  to  go  out  of  Broadway  ?  Do  they  think  that  their  carriage  is  to  be 
expelled  from  Broadway,  or  their  cart,  or  their  team  1  Do  tliey  wish  to  ride  in  a  side  street 
in  their  conveyances,  or  in  their  omnibuses  creep  down  some  new  channel,  sparsely  inhabi- 
ted, and  give  room  for  others  to  ride  upon  the  Broadway  of  fashion,  to  be  cheered  and 
amused  by  the  crowds  which  throng  its  way  ?  No  ;  such  an  idea  never  crossed  the  mind 
of  an  individual  who  has  made  such  an  observation,  though  they  may  have  reiterated  it 
from  day  to  day.  And,  let  us  ask  your  Honorable  Body,  who  would  be  in  favor  of  the 
relief  of  Broadway  if  they  supposed  they  were  to  be  the  individuals  to  go  out  of  Broadway  % 
It  is  our  conviction  that  if  each  one  was  compelled  to  practise  what  they  preach  upon  this 
subject,  there  would  be  an  awful  silence  reign  in  respect  to  it,  and  the  words  would  never 
be  heard  again.  No  ;  so  long  as  a  cart  can  run,  a  carriage  be  crowded  in,  or  a  chance  of 
any  kind  to  be  occupied,  Broadway  will  be  crowded  and  jammed  to  its  utmost  capacity. 

The  more  noise  the  more  confusion,  the  greater  the  crowd  the  better  the  lookers  on  and 
the  crowders  seem  to  like  it,  and  the  world,  from  the  match-boy  to  the  gentleman  of 
leasure,  resort  there  to  seethe  confusion,  the  uproar  and  the  sights,  while  all  enjoy  it  alike. 
This  d  in,  this  driving,  this  omnibus  thunder,  this  squeezing,  this  jamming,  crowding,  and 
at  times  smashing,  is  the  exhilirating  music  which  charms  the  multitude  and  draws  its 
thousands  within  the  whirl.  This  is  Broadway — this  makes  Broadway.  Take  from  it  these 
elements,  the  charm  is  gone,  and  it  is  no  longer  Broadway.  But  crowd  it,  and  crowd  it  and 
continue  to  crowd  it  until,  like  the  mountain  stream,  it  overflows  its  banks  in  a  natural 
way,  and  then  trace  the  course  of  events  through  thi3  simple  comparison.  That  the  stream 
will  follow  its  bed,  that  the  current  will  run  in  its  natural  channel,  and  though  the  hand 
of  man  in  his  ingenuity  may  point  it  to  higher  aims  and  beckon  the  waters  to  come  this 
way,  he  may  beckon  in  vain,  till  they,  by  compulsion,  are  driven  from  their  limits  to  see1 
channels  in  other  places. 

Tnos.  A.  Davif.s,  ( 
Chairman. 


